Shays leading Farrell 46 percent to 41 percent among all likely voters

In response to the poll's main findings, Shays' campaign manager Michael Sohn issued a statement saying Shays "is focused on making sure voters know his 19-year record of independent leadership, accomplishment and fighting for the 4th District's transportation, housing and economic development priorities. Christopher's accomplishments stand in stark contrast to his opponent's partisan rhetoric and tax-and-spend record." Congressman Chris Shays of Connecticut served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Fiji in the 1960's.

Poll: War Evens Up Race In 4th District October 24, 2006 By JOEL LANG, Courant Staff Writer

The race between incumbent Republican Chris Shays and Democrat Diane Farrell for Connecticut's 4th Congressional District is now tied and is being driven more than ever by the war in Iraq, according to a new poll commissioned by The Courant.

The poll found each candidate with 43 percent support among likely voters, reflecting a gain of 2 percentage points for Farrell and a loss of 3 percentage points for Shays since a similar poll in early October when violence in Iraq began to escalate.

The previous poll, done by the University of Connecticut's Center for Survey Research and Analysis for the Advocate of Stamford, had Shays leading Farrell 46 percent to 41 percent among all likely voters.

The new poll shows unaffiliated voters shifting toward Farrell. In three weeks, she has erased a 16-point deficit to pull almost even with the moderate Shays in unaffiliated support, 38 percent to 39 percent.

Farrell also got a boost Monday when the Connecticut Green Party candidate in the 4th District, writer and environmental lawyer Richard Duffee, withdrew in favor of her campaign. The alliance might bring Farrell 1,300 votes. In 2004, she lost to Shays by 14,000 votes.

Her gain in the poll coincides with what Monika McDermott, center research director, said is one of its most striking findings: The war in Iraq, which voters already rated the most important issue in the campaign, has become even more dominant. The war is now the top issue for 38 percent of likely voters, compared with 28 percent three weeks ago.

McDermott said the spike probably can be explained by events on the ground in Iraq, where October is becoming one of the war's bloodiest months, and Farrell's "constantly fighting to keep [Iraq] on the agenda."

"It has been the main focus of her campaign," McDermott said, and thus more likely to make a difference in the 4th District than in the 2nd and 5th districts, where Democrats Joe Courtney and Chris Murphy are attacking Republicans Rob Simmons and Nancy Johnson over their allegiance to the party in power.

Farrell has done the same with Shays, but McDermott said, "Shays is known as a moderate and a maverick, so it's harder to tie him to the Republicans." Shays also, she said, "has set himself up as an expert on the war so he's opened himself up to criticism on that topic."

In the latest poll, Shays' approval rating declined from 59 percent to 45 percent. The congressman has made 14 trips to Iraq, and beginning even before the 9/11 attacks, has conducted scores of House committee hearings on the war and terrorism.

In response to the poll's main findings, Shays' campaign manager Michael Sohn issued a statement saying Shays "is focused on making sure voters know his 19-year record of independent leadership, accomplishment and fighting for the 4th District's transportation, housing and economic development priorities. Christopher's accomplishments stand in stark contrast to his opponent's partisan rhetoric and tax-and-spend record."

Farrell's campaign manager, Adam Wood, said, "The momentum for change is growing, particularly in the 4th Congressional District, and the poll reflects that. ... People are aware of Chris Shays' support for the president's policy on Iraq and are becoming more frustrated day by day."

An indication of how much the war helps Farrell is the poll finding that she is supported by two-thirds of the voters who consider the war the top issue, compared with 22 percent for Shays. Meanwhile, voter ranking of terrorism as the most important issue dropped from 17 percent to 13 percent.

Disenchantment with the Republican Congress, a national trend, also was reflected in the Courant/UConn poll. It found voters preferred that the Democrats take control of Congress by 54 percent to 29 percent. The previous poll, released Oct. 3, did not ask that question.

In a statement explaining the Green Party's strategic withdrawal from the 4th District race, Duffee said his candidacy was less important than Democrats' winning the House. Brakes need to be put on "Bush's imperial presidency," he said.

The new poll surveyed 805 voters from Oct. 16 to Oct. 22 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. The results of the previous poll were announced Oct. 3.

Contact Joel Lang at jlang@courant.com.

When this story was posted in October 2006, this was on the front page of PCOL:

Chris Dodd's Vision for the Peace CorpsSenator Chris Dodd (RPCV Dominican Republic) spoke at the ceremony for this year's Shriver Award and elaborated on issues he raised at Ron Tschetter's hearings. Dodd plans to introduce legislation that may include: setting aside a portion of Peace Corps' budget as seed money for demonstration projects and third goal activities (after adjusting the annual budget upward to accommodate the added expense), more volunteer input into Peace Corps operations, removing medical, healthcare and tax impediments that discourage older volunteers, providing more transparency in the medical screening and appeals process, a more comprehensive health safety net for recently-returned volunteers, and authorizing volunteers to accept, under certain circumstances, private donations to support their development projects. He plans to circulate draft legislation for review to members of the Peace Corps community and welcomes RPCV comments.

He served with honorOne year ago, Staff Sgt. Robert J. Paul (RPCV Kenya) carried on an ongoing dialog on this website on the military and the peace corps and his role as a member of a Civil Affairs Team in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have just received a report that Sargeant Paul has been killed by a car bomb in Kabul. Words cannot express our feeling of loss for this tremendous injury to the entire RPCV community. Most of us didn't know him personally but we knew him from his words. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends. He was one of ours and he served with honor.

Chris Shays Shifts to Favor an Iraq TimetableIn a policy shift, RPCV Congressman Chris Shays, long a staunch advocate of the Bush administration's position in Iraq, is now proposing a timetable for a withdrawal of American troops. How Mr. Shays came to this change of heart is, he says, a matter of a newfound substantive belief that Iraqis need to be prodded into taking greater control of their own destiny under the country’s newly formed government. As Chairman of the House Government Reform subcommittee on national security, he plans to draft a timetable for a phased withdrawal and then push for its adoption. A conscientious objector during the Vietnam War who said that if drafted he would not serve, Chris Shays has made 14 trips to Iraq and was the first Congressman to enter the country after the war - against the wishes of the Department of Defense.

Peace Corps' Screening and Medical ClearanceThe purpose of Peace Corps' screening and medical clearance process is to ensure safe accommodation for applicants and minimize undue risk exposure for volunteers to allow PCVS to complete their service without compromising their entry health status. To further these goals, PCOL has obtained a copy of the Peace Corps Screening Guidelines Manual through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and has posted it in the "Peace Corps Library." Applicants and Medical Professionals (especially those who have already served as volunteers) are urged to review the guidelines and leave their comments and suggestions. Then read the story of one RPCV's journey through medical screening and his suggestions for changes to the process.

The Peace Corps is "fashionable" againThe LA Times says that "the Peace Corps is booming again and "It's hard to know exactly what's behind the resurgence." PCOL Comment: Since the founding of the Peace Corps 45 years ago, Americans have answered Kennedy's call: "Ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man." Over 182,000 have served. Another 200,000 have applied and been unable to serve because of lack of Congressional funding. The Peace Corps has never gone out of fashion. It's Congress that hasn't been keeping pace.

PCOL readership increases 100%Monthly readership on "Peace Corps Online" has increased in the past twelve months to 350,000 visitors - over eleven thousand every day - a 100% increase since this time last year. Thanks again, RPCVs and Friends of the Peace Corps, for making PCOL your source of information for the Peace Corps community. And thanks for supporting the Peace Corps Library and History of the Peace Corps. Stay tuned, the best is yet to come.

History of the Peace CorpsPCOL is proud to announce that Phase One of the "History of the Peace Corps" is now available online. This installment includes over 5,000 pages of primary source documents from the archives of the Peace Corps including every issue of "Peace Corps News," "Peace Corps Times," "Peace Corps Volunteer," "Action Update," and every annual report of the Peace Corps to Congress since 1961. "Ask Not" is an ongoing project. Read how you can help.

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Story Source: Hartford Courant

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; Figures; COS - Fiji; Politics; Congress

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